Could be that Illinois is finally showing what they are really capable of.? I sure hope so. After sweeping the doubleheader today against the Dartmouth Big Green today, the Illinois will come home to Illinois with a 5-1 record from their Spring Break trip. That brings the Illini back up to .500 after starting the season 1-5. Nice job, guys!
Game One
Illinois was pretty much in control of the Big Green never giving up the lead in either game in today’s doubleheader. Dartmouth made it close in game 1 when they tied it up 3-3 in the fifth inning of the seven inning contest. One inning later though, Davis Hendrickson scored on a Willie Argo sacrifice fly for the winning run. The final score: Illinois 4 Dartmouth 3.
Mike Giller and Craig Lutes both had two hits in Game 1 and Casey McMurray drove in 
two runs with a double in the third.
Who got the win? Yeah, it was Mike Sterk again. After starter Will Strack pitched five decent innings giving up three runs, Sterk (left) came in to pitch a scoreless sixth to get the ‘W’. He now has pitched 10 1/3 innings this year and now has THREE wins to lead the team plus a save to go along with it. Bryan Roberts pitched the ninth and got his first save of the year.
By the numbers |
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|---|---|
| 4 for 7 | Casey McMurray’s line for today’s doubleheader today. He now sports a .412 batting average for the season. |
| 5-1 | Illinois’ record for the Spring Break trip. |
| 16 | Brandon Hohl’s total rbis this season. The freshman thirdbaseman leads the Illini so far this year. |
Game Two
Dartmouth gave their best effort to in the seventh and made a little too interesting in Game 2. With a 8-1 Illinois lead in the ninth, the Big Green rallied for 5 runs but Corey Kimes came in and shut them down for the last out and got his second save of the 
year. Final score: Illinois 8 Dartmouth 6
But honestly, the big story was probably freshman starter Kevin Johnson’s performance on the mound. Johnson (right) went six innings and allowed just one run on six hits. For his effort, he now has his first college win under his belt. Good job, Kevin!
Speaking of freshman, Brandon Hohl had a good game. He got three hits including one double and drove in three runs. Casey McMurray continued his good stick from Game 1 and also hit the ball three times, scoring twice and driving in one run. Willie Argo hit a triple and a single getting an rbi and a run each.
Next up
In a couple days, the Illini get their first off-weekend this season. On Tuesday though, Illinois with be playing up here in Illinois when the visit the Illinois State Redbirds. Gametime is 6:05pm.
One day later, baseball will come to Illinois Field! On Wednesday, March 31, the Illini will host Chicago State for their home opener. I hope to see everyone there!
Random Ramblings
Illinois is beginning to show their skills at hitting now with a team .306 average. Not only that, the team’s traditional adeptness on the base paths is showing too. They now have 39 stolen bases for the year. My point? Our typical offensive strengths are quite there.
Not to nitpick but our team is tied with Minnesota for last in homeruns. On the positive, side, Illinois hasn’t been a slugging team historically and done ok but it worries me when we come up against the big boppers like OSU, IU and UM.
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Tuesday’s game against the Redbirds begins WDWS AM-1400’s broadcast coverage of Illinois baseball games. My guess is that the News-Gazette will start covering the games in more depth as well.